New York Daily News

HEAR THEM ROAR!

CoCo, Brady victories put at least four American women into Open’s final 16

- BY STEFAN BONDY

The American women are rolling with Serena Williams on maternity leave.

The U.S. will have at least four representa­tives in the Round of 16 of the women’s bracket, including two underdog winners from Saturday in CoCo Vandeweghe and Jennifer Brady.

Vandeweghe, seeded 20th, pulled off an emotional upset over No. 10 Aga Radwanska, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, during a nearly three-hour marathon on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It was just Vandeweghe’s second victory over Radwanska in seven tries, and it arrived after multiple emotional outbursts from the Long Island product and an attempt to smash her racket on the court in frustratio­n.

“I only had one win against her, but now I have two, and that’s all that matters,” she said.

Vandeweghe, the niece and granddaugh­ter of former Knicks players, next faces 37thranked Lucie Safarova. She can advance to her second consecutiv­e Grand Slam quarterfid­on nal after doing it at Wimbledon in July.

But fatigue could be a factor after completing the longest match of Vandeweghe’s career.

“Ouch, my legs are going to feel it in my mixed doubles match later (Saturday),” she said.

Vandeweghe, seeded 20th, will be joined in the Round of 16 by the following Americans: No. 91 Brady, No. 9 Venus Williams and No. 83 Sloane Stephens. No. 15 Madison Keys, an Illinois product, could’ve joined them with her third-round match scheduled for late Saturday.

For Brady, 22, this represents her first time qualifying for the Open draw, and she’s already won three matches – including Saturday’s 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Romania’s Monica Niculescu. Brady is a late bloomer but coming on strong, having advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open this year as well. On Saturday, the Harrisburg, Pa., native nearly collapsed down the stretch while losing two games when serving for the match.

But Brady rebounded by winning the first four points of the tiebreaker, and buried the 58th-ranked Niculescu.

Another upset would solidify Brady’s Cinderella story since the opponent is topranked Karolina Pliskova, who has looked vulnerable at the Open while dropping two sets in her last two matches.

“I have never played a No. 1 player in the world. I’m sure I’ll feel a little bit of both (nervous and confident). I mean, at times, you know, you kind of come back to reality and are, like, on paper, I’m not supposed to win this match,” Brady said. “She’s a big hitter. She has a very good serve. I mean, I haven’t watched her play much, but I know obviously she’s No. 1 in the world, so it’s going to be a tough match.”

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